


this is a cave

by awwclint



Series: paper tigers (Sportsfest: Team 29 Balls to the Face Main Round 2 Entry) [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Caves, Dragons, M/M, Misunderstandings, but its ok they figure it out, fuck if i know tbh, theres shapeshifters and tanaka lives in a cave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:16:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25817167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awwclint/pseuds/awwclint
Summary: Nishinoya Yuu doesn’t back down from a dare.Sometimes, that’s a good thing. Other times — most times, even — it’s not so good.He really doesn’t know whether it’s good or bad this time.
Relationships: Nishinoya Yuu/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Series: paper tigers (Sportsfest: Team 29 Balls to the Face Main Round 2 Entry) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1871071
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47
Collections: SportsFest 2020 Main Round 2





	this is a cave

Nishinoya Yuu doesn’t back down from a dare.

Sometimes, that’s a good thing. Other times — most times, even — it’s not so good.

He really doesn’t know whether it’s good or bad this time.

The directions were simple; head forty kilometres south of Tokyo, walk ten kilometres due east, swing a sharp left at the burned rock, and go until you see the cave. Yuu doesn’t understand how a rock can get burned, since it’s not made out of wood, but there’s definitely a burned rock in front of him.

The cave’s gotta be close, and Yuu’s gonna figure out whether there’s actually a dragon there or not.

He doesn’t know if dragons exist. Like, shapeshifters exist, right? There could totally be dragons, too! He’s never _seen_ one, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t real. He’s never seen a snake, either, but he’s pretty sure those are real.

Yuu almost walks right into a tree, losing his train of thought.

“Why you wanna hurt me, tree?” Yuu demands, glaring at the wood right in front of his face. “Square up, you…”

He trails off as he looks up and realizes the tree isn’t a tree. Well, not anymore, at least. The part of the tree with the leaves is _gone_. The new top of the not-tree is warped and mangled, slices and gouges torn deep into the wood.

Yuu swallows, leaning to the side to look past the not-tree. Oh, hey, there’s the part with the leaves! It’s lying on the ground, right in front of—

Oh. He’s found the cave.

The cave entrance is fucking massive, as it turns out. The rock looks like it’s been _chewed_ on, roughly shaped into a shadowed opening. He can’t see into the cave through the overwhelming darkness.

Yuu is kinda dumb, sure, but he can put the pieces together. Burned rock, clawed-up tree, mountain that got chewed on?

Yeah, dragons are real.

Steeling himself, Yuu takes a step forward. And then another. Slowly, hesitantly, he walks into the cave, letting the darkness swallow him whole.

  


* * *

  


There’s a guy sitting in the middle of the cave, head tilted back and eyes closed. No dragon so far, just an _incredibly hot_ guy and a bunch of gold shit strewn across the cavern floor. Or— is it still a floor if it’s a cave? Ground?

Wait. Gold shit. Dragons hoard shit. Oh, there’s totally a dragon living here. But then, what’s the guy doing here?

Without warning, the rock Yuu’s got his hand on crumbles a bit, sending tiny rocks clattering to the ground. The guy’s eyes snap open, revealing eyes that are _not_ human, holy shit. His eyes are fuckin’ big, a slit pupil chilling in the center of shining gold. Yuu dives behind the rock, pressing himself against the wall and trying to breathe quieter.

“Hello?” the guy calls, a rough, warm baritone. “You’re not sneaky, I heard ya.”

Taking a deep breath, he peeks around the corner. The guy hasn’t moved, except to look at the rock Yuu’s hiding behind.

“Hi,” Yuu greets with a weak smile. “This isn’t the bathroom! Musta taken a wrong turn somewhere.”

The guy laughs, his voice like dancing flames, warm and dangerous and _interesting_.

“If you’re not lyin’, you’re _really_ fuckin’ lost,” he snorts.

“That’s me! Directions are hard, you know?” Yuu jokes with a trembling laugh. “What are _you_ doing here? This is a cave, yanno.”

“I live here,” the guy shrugs.

Yuu blinks. “This is a cave.”

“What, can’t a guy live in a cave?” the guy asks with a grin. “Name’s Tanaka.”

“Nishinoya! Call me Noya, though,” Yuu offers. “Sorry for, like, invading your house. Cave. Cave-house? I’m not really looking for the bathroom.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tanaka snorts. “Why the hell are you here?”

“Honestly? I got dared to go look for a dragon,” Yuu confesses. “Have you seen one? Apparently a dragon lives in this cave, but I just see you.”

“That’s weird shit to ask someone you just met, dude.” Some of the humour drains from Tanaka’s face as he exhales slowly. Aw, Yuu hadn’t meant to make the guy uncomfortable. “Buy me dinner first, then we’ll talk.”

“Fair enough!” Yuu nods, determination filling him. Tanaka can’t get many visitors, since he lives in a cave, so if he wants dinner, he’s gonna get the best damn dinner he’s ever had. “Cool if I come back another day? I’ll bring food!”

“No one’s ever walked in here and asked to come again,” Tanaka huffs incredulously. “You wanna come back? Why the hell not, I guess.”

  


* * *

  


“Tanaka!!!” Yuu shouts as he makes it past the dark entrance, somehow without dropping any of the bags. “I’m back!”

“Noya! You actually came back?” Tanaka blinks, clearly surprised.

“’Course I did! I said I would, right?” Yuu grins, plopping himself down on the floor in front of Tanaka. “I brought food!”

“Marry me,” Tanaka says instantly, grabbing the bag Yuu holds out to him. “Seriously, you traveled all the way out here _with food_? I’m yours.”

“Bit forward for the first date,” Yuu teases.

“Of course,” Tanaka snorts, which is cute as all hell. “Can’t propose ‘til at least the fourth date, even if you did travel— from Tokyo?”

“Sendai,” Yuu corrects with a shrug.

“ _Sendai_?” Tanaka repeats incredulously. “Bro, that’s gotta take you, like, two hours.”

“Somethin’ like that,” Yuu agrees.

“What if I wasn’t home?”

Yuu pauses. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. His plan basically boiled down to drive to Tokyo, get food, go to the cave, profit.

Tanaka shakes his head with a snort. “Gimme your phone number.”

Yuu blinks. “You have a _phone_?”

“Why wouldn’t I have a phone?” Tanaka demands.

“This is a cave.”

“Sure, but this ain’t the past!” Tanaka protests. “I’ve got electricity and shit!”

Yuu looks around at the tiny fires on the walls, which are the only sources of light. “You have electricity… in a cave. How the hell do you pay for electricity in a _cave_?”

“I work at the Tokyo airport,” Tanaka says, like it’s obvious.

“You have a job,” Yuu huffs, amused, “but you live in a cave.”

“It’s a nice cave!” Tanaka insists, but there’s something warm in his eyes. Good, he knows that Yuu’s just teasing. “Sure, it’s in the middle of nowhere, but I like it here!”

“That’s fair,” Yuu accepts. “It is a nice cave.”

  


* * *

  


Yuu doesn’t ask about the dragon again that day. He doesn’t ask the next time he visits, either, or any of the next six months worth of visits. Sure, the curiosity is killing him, but asking made Tanaka uncomfortable last time! Yuu’s not an asshole! If Tanaka wants to tell him, then Tanaka’ll tell him.

  


* * *

  


“You get many visitors up here?” Yuu asks nonchalantly.

Ryuu shrugs. “Not really. I got Nee-san, of course, and Asahi — dunno if you’ve met them yet.”

“Nah, but you’ve talked about them a few times,” Yuu says. “They seem cool. Are they— you know, you and them?”

“Huh?” Ryuu blinks. “The hell are you on about?”

“So you’re not?” Yuu asks, confused by Ryuu’s reaction.

“You’re seriously askin’?” Ryuu huffs out a sound that’s only, like, half a laugh.

“…Yeah?”

“I’m fuckin’ confused, Yuu,” Ryuu says. “The second time you were here — when you brought me dinner — you called it our first date.”

“Wait,” Yuu says slowly. “I was joking. I thought you were joking!”

“You were joking?!” Ryuu repeats incredulously. “I wasn’t! I thought—”

“You thought we were dating this whole time?” Yuu asks, trying to get it straight in his head.

“Yeah.” Ryuu lets out a long sigh, leaning back. “Sorry—”

“No, lemme finish,” Yuu interrupts. “You thought we were dating for the last six months. The same six months that I spent pining after you?”

“Huh?”

“I’m so fucking dumb,” Yuu whines, burying his face in his hands. “I coulda been dating you for real this whole damn time instead of staring at your ass when you were facing the other way?!”

Ryuu flushes, and Yuu needs to kiss him. Like, right now.

“I need to kiss you,” Yuu says. “Like, right now.”

Yuu gets up on his knees to close the distance between them, and Ryuu immediately moves back.

“Hang on,” Ryuu says quickly, and Yuu freezes, waiting. “Just gotta— when I get flustered, it builds up, so I gotta let it out first.”

Yuu is confused for a few seconds before Ryuu turns his head and fucking _blows a stream of fire_ into the cave.

“What the fuck,” Yuu deadpans.

“Yeah, uh, remember when you asked if there was a dragon in the cave?” Ryuu reminds, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m a dragon shifter?”

“That’s…” Yuu starts, trailing off as he tries to find enough words to express his feelings. “That’s _so fucking cool_!!!”

“Really?” Ryuu asks.

“Hell yeah, babe!” Yuu exclaims, the pet name rolling off his tongue without his permission, but fuck it, he’s waited long enough. “You’re a DRAGON!”

Ryuu grins at Yuu’s enthusiasm, blowing a second, smaller stream of flames. “Alright, we’re good to go.”

Yuu doesn’t need to be told twice. He practically throws himself across the floor, kissing Ryuu with all the hunger and desire of the last six months.

Ryuu pulls away after a few seconds, and Yuu whines.

“You gotta let me get used to kissing you,” Ryuu warns, “so I don’t light you on fire or some shit.”

“Fair,” Yuu admits, because he’s not exactly fireproof.

“I get possessive, too,” Ryuu admits. “It’s a dragon thing. Hoarding treasure, things that matter to me.”

“So you’re saying I should move in with you?”

“I mean,” Ryuu says awkwardly, “if you wanna live in a cave, yeah.”

“Ryuu,” Yuu says seriously, “it would be an honour to live in your cave.”

The serious moment lasts, like, another second before they’re both snorting at the seriousness.

Yeah, he’s gonna live in a cave. But it’s a cave with electricity, and gold shit all over the floor, and a dragon-shifter-boyfriend.

He’s never been so happy that he accepted a dare.


End file.
